National Security Strategies

National security strategy development and implementation is key to addressing regional, sub-regional, and national security challenges. It is also a central component of security sector governance, supporting effective oversight of and accountability within African security sectors. This collection of Africa Center presentations, discussions, and analysis highlights the priorities, challenges, and processes of creating national security strategies and putting them into practice.

Spotlight

By Paul Nantulya, September 7, 2016

Ideally, the size, equipment, and posture of the military are determined by a threat assessment, itself a product of a national security strategy development process. A discerning assessment curbs waste because it matches resources to the nature of the threat, which in turn guides procurement.

Video

By Martin Rupiya, July 6, 2016

Debates about national security are traditionally viewed as the preserve of the state, but that is starting to change as strategy-making becomes more professional and inclusive. Martin Rupiya, a defense expert based at the University of South Africa, discusses the trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Video

By Thomas Dempsey, November 7, 2014

Former Africa Center Chair of Security Studies Col. (Ret.) Thomas Dempsey offers perspectives on where national security strategy and policy are moving and why it matters for security sector professionals.

Africa Security Brief

By Emile Ouédraogo, July 31, 2014

Concerns over weak military professionalism are a common thread woven through assessments of security contexts in Africa. By resolving ambiguities in the mission and oversight of the military as well as common adversarial relationships between soldiers and citizens, some African states have demonstrated commendable—and replicable—progress in overcoming the political and economic disincentives to professionalism that encumber many African security services.

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By Thomas Dempsey, January 30, 2014

Across Africa, there is rapid movement toward the development of national security processes in regimes that had never previously had them. Former Africa Center Chair of Security Studies Col. (Ret.) Thomas Dempsey discusses the trends.

Africa Security Brief

By Helmoed Heitman, May 31, 2011

Combating irregular forces has become a common feature of the contemporary African security landscape. However, the security sector in most African countries is ill-prepared to conduct effective counter-insurgency operations. Realigning force structures to address these threats while building security sector professionalism to gain the trust of local populations is needed to do so.